Compliance & Regulation
Women now make up 40% of Bar as diversity trends continue
Long-term trends of improving diversity at the Bar continued last year, with women now making up just over 40% of barristers, Bar Standards Board figures have shown.
‘Conflict of interest’ solicitor threatened client with libel action
A solicitor has been fined for acting for clients in a property dispute knowing they had a possible negligence claim against the firm for causing the litigation in the first place.
Three arrested in raid on “bogus” immigration law firm
Three suspected fraudulent immigration lawyers have been arrested in Greater Manchester following a Home Office raid on Wednesday.
Legal Ombudsman forced to revise backlog figure upwards – again
The queue of cases awaiting investigation at the Legal Ombudsman is not falling as fast as had been expected, with the March 2024 target having been revised upwards for a third time.
BSB keeps its powder dry over Post Office barristers
The Bar Standards Board has yet to see evidence from the Post Office inquiry that requires it to take urgent action against any barrister, it has told Legal Futures.
Axiom Ince review to investigate regulation of ‘accumulator firms’
The Legal Services Board review of the collapse of Axiom Ince will include not just the role of the Solicitors Regulation Authority but also its approach to law firm consolidators.
SRA hands out another hefty fine for drink-drive conviction
The Solicitors Regulation Authority has imposed another hefty fine on a solicitor convicted of drink driving as the impact of its new approach to fines hits home.
Deferring point of call will damage diversity and inns, says top KC
Delaying the point at which barristers are called to the Bar until after obtaining pupillage risks reducing the diversity and strength of the profession, a former Bar Council chair has argued.
LSB to identify gaps in regulation that allow unethical conduct
The Legal Services Board is to begin work on identifying the gaps in regulation that have allowed unethical or unprofessional conduct to emerge.
Solicitor fined £9,000 for improper client account transfers
A solicitor who allowed made improper transfers from client account to his firm’s office account has been fined £9,000 by the Solicitors Regulation Authority.
Blog
The new metrics for success in conveyancing
While technology has made much of the conveyancing process faster, there remains a practical limit to how many matters anyone can manage while still keeping standards intact.
The UK legal market is polarising – and the middle is disappearing
Consolidation and the boutique boom are not contradictory. They are the same market stretching apart at both ends – and it changes what your firm is worth, and to whom.
Conveyancing’s consistency problem is about pressure, not skills
When I qualified, a conveyancer had perhaps 10 or 12 plates to keep spinning. Today’s conveyancers have 20 or 30, and almost none of the room for error I had starting out.
Reports
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